This is a field sketch (6"x8" oil on canvas board) of the larger piece I am working on now. I love the rusted tin, the cracks in the walls, and the patina on the limestone. Good stuff. I used the sketch as a model for the larger piece, as far as proportions go, which I am not sure is always such a good idea... There were some discrepancies, which I found when I took the larger piece to work on location (hurray for the french easel!). Had to change the roof line and some others a bit. I prefer to work wet on wet, but things dry faster here than in Washington... I wasn't sure of what to think of today's work, but by the time I got back to the studio, I was feeling better about my progress. I'll post more pics later.
My mind has been a terrible mess for the past few weeks(take a look in the back of my car, and you will see what my noggin innerts looked like). But here is what I have gathered from looking back on similar experiences:
Chaos ensues just before I have a breakthrough of some sort.
Whether the breakthrough is personal or related to my work- it always has the same effect. (...but then, "personal" and "my work" kind of go hand-in-hand, don't they?) This happens often, it is cyclical. I happily paint for a while and then all of a sudden it feels like my creativity has dried up. I stew on it for a bit, until the ideas and methods begin to boil and the next thing I know I am sailing through another fresh season of painting bliss!
An example of the method in my madness: My paintings generally looks shoddy right up until the last few touches are placed. Especially the cloud paintings- they are this huge jumble of oddly shaped color masses, not quite connecting, certainly not related, and as the final brushstroke go down -BOOM! we have clouds.
I feel like I have been in a funk for a little while and I realized today that
part of my problem was just not letting each painting be what it was going to be. I have had the most success with a painting when I sit back and watch it develop. No expectations. No forcing it to unfold before it is ready. That can be frustrating. Its like getting to know people. I find it difficult sometimes to step back and let things happen at their own pace. Sometimes both people and paintings have to be allowed to unfold at their own pace. The outcome can be uncertain, but more often than not well worth the wait (some of my friendships have taken over a decade to ripen, but oh how sweet they are! Love-em.). Egad! Imagine working on the same painting for a decade plus! Ccchhhkk! The thought is bitter in my throat.
Summing up! It is all about letting go of the outcome. All I can do is know what I want and let it happen. (Now if I can just remember that when I get into the studio tomorrow morning... I need fifty sticky notes and a sharpie- STAT!!!)
Oh! My ad is out in Fine Art Connoisseur for November and December- check it out! I love it. Lee, you might recognize the painting...
Olmos Park
After I picked up Live Oak Lineup (I'll show you later...) from the framers, I booked it to the San Antonio Botanic Gardens and ended up painting in the parking lit. The sun was setting, there was fantastic color, the trees in the background ranged from gray-greens to pink and purple- it was awesome! The light was changing so fast that each time I looked up I saw a different gorgeous scene than the one I was working on. I had to laugh! It felt good to be racing time again. I haven't done much plein air in a while. (Sometimes just a few days without feels like n eternity.) I have been working on letting my artistic license get some air. My colors have really benefited from it. The only problem I had while working on this sketch was that I was a bit uncomfortable with my environment. I jumped every time a breeze pushed a leaf, scratching across the pavement behind me. Mot knowing the area can be a little nerve wracking when when painting alone. So for the next painting I called a friend who is not currently a painter, but seems to be a possible (and willing) convert. (A note to my fellow painters out there- Adding to the ranks, baby! We shall rule the wooorld- Muahahahahahahahaha!)
The reference photo blew my socks off. The sketch is not so bad, needs more definition in the reflection of the bridge in the water, the color of the bridge needs variation, and ... well... I'm not going to take the sketch any further because I am going to paint this scene again, but much much larger.
This is a field sketch (6"x8" oil on canvas board) of the larger piece I am working on now. I love the rusted tin, the cracks in the walls, and the patina on the limestone. Good stuff. I used the sketch as a model for the larger piece, as far as proportions go, which I am not sure is always such a good idea... There were some discrepancies, which I found when I took the larger piece to work on location (hurray for the french easel!). Had to change the roof line and some others a bit. I prefer to work wet on wet, but things dry faster here than in Washington... I wasn't sure of what to think of today's work, but by the time I got back to the studio, I was feeling better about my progress. I'll post more pics later.
Ok, so I am having some trouble with blogger right now and it is not letting me upload any more photos. This is Soren playing at the window in the fabulous studio space so graciously given by my loving Auntie Vick and Uncle Jeff! It is wonderful! Loads of light, a window that I can open to let in the fresh air, and its ok if I poke holes in the walls to hang stuff from because someone else has already done it.
This is what I am working on right now. I have to admit, I have been struggling with it. Panic. I've been feeling panic. I've been working from that odd place of "will they like this." That doesn't work. I keep second guessing myself with every brushstroke, and I know- I KNOW that if I would just relax and do it the way I would like it, the piece would paint itself. No stress. No fussing. No questioning myself. I feel like I have moved a little too far away from my intuition and need to ground myself again.
